A Hero's Beginning
by TheNightRaven
Summary: A simple change at the start of a demigod's life can completely change one's Sally Jackson ensured her son would survive in the world of the Her efforts created something much more than what she expected: a demigod, a hero, a leader, a ..and a Watch the rise of a King, from the beginning to the Mature and Stronger Percy
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter One**

* * *

"Do I really have to mommy?"

Sally Jackson looked down at her son, smiling as she hugged him. "Yes Percy. It's only for a few years. You'll love it sweetie."

Percy pouted as he waved his arms around in protest. "But all the other boys are so much bigger than me. And older. They'll probably beat me up. Which will hurt. Do you like seeing me get hurt mom?" He pouted cutely, with quivering puppy dog eyes, and tears forming. His mother rolled her eyes and attempted to brush his raven hair, which inevitably failed. He obviously got that from his father.

"Now now, none of that. Percy…you may not understand it but it'll prepare you for the future. Can you please trust me?" She asked him gently, but hiding her sadness inside. Simply because of his father he would have a completely different life. Her thoughts strayed back to her child's father, and something inside her ached. Her gaze went down, and a tear started to fall down her cheek. Fortunately, Percy recognized that his mother was unhappy and quickly hugged her.

"Okay mommy I'm sorry," he yelled, squeezing her neck. "I'll trust you and take those kendo classes. Just don't cry! Please mommy? Pleaaase?"

Sally snapped out of her shock and quickly hugged in son in return. "It wasn't your fault Percy-just some old memories. But I'm happy that you're willing to take those classes." She smiled brightly at him, and managed to unhook his arms around her neck before she fainted from the lack of oxygen. "Don't worry about the older boys okay? Someday, you'll be good enough to beat them, and anyone who faces up to you."

Percy gasped and he blurted out, "Really mom? I can really beat them? So I'll be able to beat up anyone I want to? That's awesome! When do I start, I want to hurry up and grow up and be able to-" An elegant finger was held to his lips, silencing him. Percy blinked as his mother stared at him sternly.

"Don't hurt people who haven't done anything to you Percy. And to be able to become strong means a lot of hard work okay?"

"Okay mommy," he answered, looking somewhat ashamed.

Sally smiled again. She couldn't get too mad at him for too long. "All right, I'll promise you this. If you start kendo I'll take you to that beach I always talk to you about."

Percy's eyes widened and he gasped dramatically, holding his hands to his face. "You mean that beach with the cabin and the sunset view and the sparkly water with the waves and the soft sand and all the seashells?"

His mother giggled at his run-on sentence. "Yes Percy, that one. But wait till you actually go there-you won't be disappointed. So…deal?"

"DEAL!" He yelled, jumping for joy.

A few days later Percy had joined a kendo club after he turned six years old. Just as he'd predicted, many of the older boys, the normal age to start kendo being eight, picked on him and destroyed him in spars. He wanted to cry but he held them in. Percy had promised his mother he wouldn't let them deter him and he intended to keep it. Everyday after the lessons, he would ask his sensei for tips, and got some extra practice in before his mother came from work to pick him up. Sally had spent quite a chunk of her savings to afford for Percy to go to his lessons, but she deemed it necessary for him to learn these skills. Her son would need them in the future when his scent started to be noticed by the monsters. Gradually, she watched her son improve rapidly, under the guidance of two of the older students, Kirito and Shu. The pair had come to Manhattan from Japan, and helped their father who owned the dojo teach other students and refine their own skills as well. The two boys, both ten, believed that Percy had a lot of potential, and decided to help him out, not to mention he was an adorable little kid. Kirito would often mess up the younger boy's hair more than it already was. Percy found these extremely annoying, if the glares he sent were any hint, and it only made Kirito laugh at him.

It turned out Percy did have a lot of talent in kendo, most likely due to his bloodline. Unfortunately, none of the bamboo swords in the dojo, _shinai _as they were called, were made for someone his height, and they were all too heavy for him as well, which interfered with his balance, and all in all hindered his progress. Shu recommended ordering a custom fit _shinai_, but unfortunately Sally couldn't afford the money to spend without any risks. When Kirito and Shu were told this, they took it calmly and said they had another solution to train him properly. The two boys had gone and bought bamboo, and whittled it down with a knife until it resembled a _shinai, _and then smoothed it out with sandpaper. The hilt was more focused on, smoothing out a pattern so when the cloth was wrapped around it there would be a smooth but firm grip Percy could hold onto. Within two days, the boys had finished the impromptu practice weapon and gave it to Percy after keeping it a secret.

To say Percy was surprised was a major understatement. When he had received it at the beginning of class, his jaw had hit the floor, before he quickly gave Kirito and Shu a massive hug and nearly deprived them of oxygen if Sally hadn't pulled him off. The difference the new weapon made was astounding. Percy's stances and movements improved triple in that one class alone. To thank the two brothers, Sally gave them about five bags of candy each from her job and the two blushed and told her they had been more than happy to do so. Again, they surprised her with their maturity for their age, something she told them and they only blushed again before bowing deeply to her.

As she had promised, two months after Percy started kendo, Sally took him to Montauk. The moment Percy had gotten out of the car he had been in love with the place. He spent hours on end in the water, collected seashells, and after Sally taught him how to make a fire, she gave him his favorite marshmallows to roast. She also taught him how to swim in that short period of time, which he had greatly enjoyed. From what Percy told her, he loved swimming against the waves and the way the water felt against his skin. Just from that, Sally decided she would sign him up for swimming lessons after getting to a high enough level in kendo. As much as she wanted him to do both, she just didn't have a high enough paying job to be able to afford both of them. When she told Percy this, he surprisingly only nodded in understanding, and told her he'd keep practicing kendo daily even after he quit.

After Percy turned seven, he was given a _bokutō, _a practice sword resembling the Japanese _katana, _and it was made of hard wood, not flexible bamboo. Unfortunately, once again, none of them seemed to fit Percy. Kirito and Shu attempted to make another sword for him, however their attempts failed. There was always a problem with their finished work, and with each failed attempt it only made Percy to become sadder and sadder. Sally tried to gather enough money to buy a custom fit one for him, but she couldn't put aside enough due to the amount they needed for the necessities. To make things worse, a few weeks later, it soon came to a point where Percy's old _shinai_ had become too small for him. Of course, the easy solution was for Kirito and Shu to make him another one. However, their father had noticed their favoritism of him over the other students and forbid them from treating Percy better over the others, if it didn't have to do with training.

With his two idols now out of the picture, and not enough money to afford one, Percy could only practice his kendo with a _bokutō _or _shinai _too heavy or big for his age or height. That didn't mean he couldn't give the older boys a good challenge in spars, however the length and weight destroyed his posture and stances, as well as his attacks. In the end he would still always lose, being at a disadvantage and the older boys only took this as a sign of weakness as they bullied him in the change room. Percy didn't dare tell his mother about this, as she would most likely pull him out of kendo lessons and he'd never see Shu or Kirito again. He saw them more as older brothers, almost as _family. _Sure he had his mother, but it would have been nice to have had older siblings. Percy wondered if his father hadn't been 'lost at sea,' if he would have had an older brother or sister. But for now, Kirito and Shu filled that role perfectly for him.

Today his mother would be working late, so Percy would have to walk back to the apartment by himself. Usually Kirito or Shu, or both, would walk with him back just to make sure he was safe, but both of them had a private training session with their father, and their brutal training from the fiery pits of hell with their grandfather. Percy involuntarily shivered. He'd seen the man once-an old man who looked like he was a thousand years old with all the wrinkles, but he had an X shaped scar above his right eye, a long white beard, and holy cows, their grandfather was insanely muscled_. _He'd had to stay at the dojo waiting for his mother, and suddenly the man had appeared in the dojo and started doing pushups on one finger with a fifty pound weight on his back. He'd done at least sixty before Percy had lost count.

He snapped out of his memories when he'd realized he had reached the elevator door. Pressing the UP button, Percy waited a couple seconds before the doors opened with a chime. As he walked in, he noticed there was only one other person with him on the elevator. Not really paying attention to the man, he tiptoed and pressed the button that had a stylish number _12_ on it. The elevator doors closed, and he felt the cables start to slowly pull the metal box upwards. Percy leaned against the wall, relaxing a bit with his _shinai_ still held loosely in his hand. Only then did he take in the other person. The man was tall; about six foot four, with strange silver white hair that was braided down his back. He was dressed in mostly black, with black dress pants, black dress shoes with a mirror shine, a dark grey dress shirt which wasn't tucked, and to finish it off, a black trench coat with silver trim. But what really caught his attention were the man's strange eyes.

His irises were mismatched-one was silver that appeared to swirl, while the other almost looked black, but it was actually a very dark shade of grey. What freaked Percy out the most though was the inversion of the man's eyes. The scleras were black instead of white, while the pupil was pure white, like fresh snow. So the man's right eye resembled the moon in the night sky, while his left looked like a void, with the grey and black seeming to be vacuumed into the white pupil. Percy didn't realize he was being extremely rude, staring at the man until he said:

"Are you done staring at me child?" he said in an amused tone, quirking his eyebrow.

Percy blushed, embarrassed, and stammered out, "I- I'm sorry sir. It won't happen again."

The man raised his brow in surprise. "Huh. I finally meet a Percy Jackson that's actually polite at this young age. Life is quite full of surprises don't you think?" Percy blinked in confusion. The man had met other Percy Jacksons? As in he had met people with the same name or...Percy couldn't think of another possibility. He shoved that topic into the back of his mind before finding his voice again.

"Um...if you don't mind sir...who exactly are you?"

The man smiled. "Hmm...just call me C. How about that?"

"C? You can have letters as names?"

"I'm a special case, let's go with that," he replied, chuckling to himself.

Percy was finding this stranger weirder and weirder. He hoped he wasn't the only one who did. "So...I've never seen you around here before. Are you new to this apartment sir?"

C blinked in astonishment. Most children the boy's age would either start talking to him about everything, or they would outright ignore him. But this boy, he was cautious. He didn't fail to notice the boy gripping the hilt of his _shinai_ tighter and put on foot behind the other in a stance. It was a basic kendo stance, yes, but it could easily be altered for a personal style. By the looks of it, the boy had already started creating his own, judging from the fact his body was slightly more angled than it should be, which would create a smaller target if the opponent attempted to jab at him, or a downward slash. Most of his weight was on his back foot, on the balls of his feet.

Before the kid would get suspicious he quickly answered, "No, just visiting someone." Technically he didn't lie. Just omitting the truth.

Percy narrowed his eyes at him. "Who're you visiting? I don't know anyone around here who looks like you, and nobody here has those freaky eyes of yours!" C panicked, but didn't show it on his face. Who in the hell taught this kid to be so observant?

"Not a family member," C replied, faking a smile. "Just an old friend of mine. And don't you dare ask what kind of person would be friends with me just because of these eyes." He pointed at Percy accusingly, which looked childish and strange from a grown man.

Percy gave a grin. "I wasn't going to ask that!" He paused, before finishing, "I was going to ask what kind of friends hangs out with a guy with old man hair!"

C wanted to throttle the kid. He clenched his fists in anger, before hissing, "It's silver. It's SILVER! NOT WHITE!"

"Sure sure. Whatever you say grandpa." The cocky smirk on the Percy's face wasn't helping in venting C's anger. The man quickly decided to get his job done, while having some fun, and quickly grabbed the boy's _shinai _out of his hand.

Percy glared in anger. "HEY! Give that back to me!"

"And why on earth would I do that?" C questioned, examining the weapon. It wasn't a real _shinai _he observed, simply an impromptu weapon carved out of bamboo. Although the quality was reasonably low, he noticed it had been used a lot. There were tiny scratches and fractures all along the bamboo, and it looked like it was going to snap after a few more uses. It was also far too short for the boy he noticed. He turned around, making it look like he wasn't going to return it to Percy. Mumbling some incomprehensible words under his breath, his held a hand over the bamboo and silver light started to shine on the wood. Thankfully, the light in the elevator helped hide the light so it wasn't as noticeable. Percy was too distracted trying to get it back as he tried jumping onto C's back, but he was far too short. C finished whatever he did, before he turned around and handed it back to Percy.

Percy snatched it from the man's hand, before examining it to make sure the man hadn't done anything to it. His sea green eyes widened at what they saw. The _shinai_ was no longer a simple piece of carved bamboo. It was a real version of the weapon, with four pieces of bamboo tied together in different places, and as he held it at arm's length, he noticed the weighting and length were a perfect fit for him. Percy swung it around several times, and he relished the feeling of having a proper practice weapon with him. Turning to thank C, he started to speak only to realize the man was gone. Percy was sure the elevator doors had never opened, and he hadn't felt the elevator stop moving either. All that remained at the spot where the strange man had once stood was a note, and a _bokutō. _Quickly picking the two up, he first examined the new weapon. It was pure black, and the wood was smooth to touch. Percy couldn't tell what it was made of, but it felt sturdy and strong in his hands. Also, just like the _shinai,_ it was a perfect fit for him. Finally, he read the note.

_Although you may have called me a grandfather, I technically am so I can't take offense to that. The weapons I gave you will grow with you and you'll never have to replace them. They will also automatically repair themselves, so no worries about that either. Tell your mother it is almost time before _they_ begin to notice you. I've placed wards around the apartment to repel _**them**_ but outside of it I cannot do much. Your future is both a great and terrible future child. However you are the instrument of the Fates to restore order to the Twelve. I will expect great things from you Perseus Jackson. Nothing more. Nothing less._

_-C_

_PS-Scratch that. I expect a lot more from you so you better be good!_

Below the note was a small drawing of the man holding the peace symbol at him sticking his tongue out. Percy stared at the note, bewildered and utterly confused. Three words described how he felt:

"What. The. Heck."

* * *

A year later, Sally got hired for a new job, and so the Jackson's moved across the entire country to San Francisco. Sally had written a short novel on her own time, and to say it was popular was an understatement. It had become popular enough that it was a recommended book for a novel study all across the country. Many schools requested her to visit universities and colleges for short lectures and Sally had agreed. She brought Percy with her to California, by car however. Percy had asked why they hadn't gone on those flying cars, but his mother never answered.

Percy would miss Kirito and Shu, but he got their numbers and would call every few weeks to see how they were doing. The now eight year old Percy was in Grade 3, and he felt as if he were going crazy. The words and numbers didn't make any sense to him, looking like gibberish, and he couldn't sit still for more than a minute. It was seriously starting to affect his grades, which started to bother him until his mother signed him up for a swim club. During the time he had done kendo, his mother had started to take him to swimming lessons to refine his skills. The water felt natural to him, and he picked up all the skills quickly. His instructors had recommended him to join a swim club back then, but he was doing kendo at the time so it wasn't possible. However, now that he did have the time, his mother had once again spent her savings on him. So here he was, introducing himself at a local pool, where the club regularly practiced. A group of kids sat in front of him as the coach told them they had a new member. When he motioned for Percy to introduce himself, he took a calming breath, and shifted his feet uncomfortably under all the gazes.

"Hi, my name is Percy Jackson. I just moved here from Manhattan, and I've never been on a swim club so I would really…._appreciate_ it if you guys showed me the ropes. I hope we become friends." He stressed on that one word he wasn't really showed on, and it caused a few giggles from the other kids. The coach smiled at him, and started to write down the warm up on the whiteboard. Percy stared at it confusedly. What was IM, BR, BK, FR, or FLY? He wasn't sure if he was reading them correctly, or his dyslexia was messing with him again. Confused, he asked the coach to explain what it all meant. The coach, named Kyle, laughed at called over another swimmer who had been getting ready to get in the water.

Percy instantly blushed when he saw her. The girl had golden blonde hair that was tied up into a bun, a face with soft features, and stormy grey eyes. She had a California tan, which made her skin seem to glow under the lighting. Currently she was wearing a light purple practice suit, with her swimming cap and goggles in her hands. Percy quickly tried to make his blush disappear as she approached.

"Yes Kyle?" she asked. Her voice was melodic, which Percy liked. Okay, Percy knew it. He had a minor crush on the girl. Emphasis on _minor_.

"Sorry about bothering you Annabeth," Kyle apologized, patting the girl on the head. "Percy here needs someone to tell him what all this means," he said, motioning towards the board. "Since you're one of the brightest minds here," Annabeth blushed at the compliment, "and I have to help out the other kids, I was hoping you could help me."

Annabeth nodded happily. "I got it Kyle. Now shoo." She motioned him to leave, and Kyle chuckled to himself as he walked over to help out the kids with their technique. After he left, Annabeth turned to Percy again, who willed himself not to blush again. "So what don't you get?"

"Um…" Percy paused, trying to choose the best word choice. "I don't really get what the numbers mean, or the..._terminology_?" It ended off like a question as he wasn't sure if he said that last word correctly.

Apparently it was quite funny, as Annabeth giggled, causing Percy to blush in embarrassment. She saw this, and gave him a reassuring smile. "Don't worry, you said it right," she said, walking towards the board. "Fly is just a short form for butterfly. You know what that is?" Percy gave a small nod, motioning her to continue. "BK is backstroke. BR is breast stroke. IM is individual medley. So all four strokes in order, like in relays. Finally, FR is freestyle."

Percy gave a confused frown. "Freestyle? Not front crawl?"

Annabeth nodded. "You can do back, fly, or breast, but most people do front crawl because it's the fastest stroke out of all four."

"Oh okay," he said, smiling to show he understood... "I got it. Thanks. But the numbers?"

"The distance."

"Huh?" He had a puzzled expression on his face.

Annabeth giggled again, much to Percy's confusion. "One length of the pool is 25 meters. So if it says 100 for example, you have to go 100 meters, so four lengths."

"OH!" Percy exclaimed. "Now I get it. And the number before it with the...multiply sign means you have to do that distance that many times?"

"Yup!" She said, giving him a thumbs up. "You know...you're smarter than you look."

Percy deadpanned at her. "Are you saying I look dumb?"

Annabeth realized her mistake, and tried to recover. "No no, I'm not saying you look dumb, you just don't look like a genius or something. But don't worry you look cute so-" She blushed, and quickly turned around, trying to hide it. It took Percy several moments to realize what she said before he started blushing too. He crossed his arms uncomfortably, turning his head to the side to avoid looking at her. Annabeth was mentally slapping herself, deeply embarrassed. _Stupid, stupid! Why would you say that? I mean, sure he's cute but he could get the wrong idea that I like him, and-_

Percy coughed uncomfortably, which snapped the blonde out of her thoughts. "Thanks for helping," he said nervously. "I think we should start the warm up now though." Annabeth turned around, with light blush across her cheeks, and her only reply was to nod. She quickly put on her cap and goggles, and walked away to the first lane on the left, jumping into the water. Then she started to swim away as fast as she could, leaving Percy to stand there confused.

Shrugging to himself, the eight year old put on his own cap, which was a dark blue color with green waves, matching his dark blue jammers and black goggles. He glanced at the board again, reading it despite his dyslexia, and managed to figure it out. Ten times 50 free, then 100 IM, and then 2 times 50 kick. Memorizing it, he slipped into the middle lane and pushed off the wall underwater, before resurfacing and taking two strokes before taking a breath. He started a pattern mentally in his head: three strokes, breathe, three strokes every turn. Percy started to add the little details his mother taught him when they watched the Olympics. First, angle the hand so there would be a smoother entry. Second, rotate the entire body side to side so there would be less resistance when accelerating. Third, lift the arm above the water so the arm was bent at forty five degrees, elbow in the air, with the fingertips at his eyes before extending it.

As he did this, Kyle watched him swim, taking in every detail. The eighteen year old coach watched as Percy fixed his stroke by himself, which made him look better and move faster in the water. Kyle watched as he lagged behind another swimmer, before he sped up and swam past the other boy. Percy was new and he was already passing other kids. That didn't usually happen until a day or two after a newbie joined. As Percy was heading back for another lap, another kid on the other side of the lane passed by him halfway. Kyle watched to see who would reach the wall first. The swimmers were ranked based by the lane they were in. Number three to six were for the slower swimmers, those who just joined or simply the slackers. Number two were the hard workers, and then lane number one had the fastest swimmers in the age group. Right now, Percy showed he already deserved to be in lane number two, but Kyle wanted to see if this kid had the talent to immediately go to one.

Percy was on his last lap, so he decided to speed up a little so he could get a small break before doing the IM. Speeding up his kick and stroke rate slightly, he approached the wall slightly faster, unknowingly matching the pace of the boy in lane two. Kyle watched as the two boys swam to the wall, and grinned in satisfaction when Percy touched the wall first. As the newest swimmer swam back to the other side, Kyle started to walk around the pool again, looking at the technique of the other swimmers. The boy Percy had somewhat beat was the fastest swimmer in that lane, which meant Percy was faster than nearly 85% of his age group. Kyle grinned. He was definitely moving him to lane number two tomorrow, just to get him used to the club, and in a week's time the kid would be in lane number one-the fastest anyone would have ever gotten there.

* * *

**So this chapter had Percy doing kendo and swimming, and meeting a certain daughter of Athena, not that he knows it. Sorry if the kendo portion wasn't that detailed. I don't know much about it, so I put in that extra portion with C. If you guess who he is, brownie points to you. I'm going to have Percy learning things until he's twelve, so if you have any ideas, please review or PM me. Give me 'constructive' criticism, not flames, but you can if you want. Give me your opinion of how it was, please and thank you. Night Raven, out.**


	2. Chapter 2

**This chapter may seem a bit rushed, and I apologize but I really want to start Percy's demigod life next chapter. Also, my version of the Percy Jackson series will be a tad darker than Rick Riordan's original version. I never understood how demigods shrugged off their past so easily without being somewhat affected by it. Riordan showed a lot of character development in the HoO series, but PJO didn't have much for other characters.**

**Chapter Two**

Percy nervously waited in line, stretching his arms and legs. He was currently at his first meet, and was about to do his first race, the 100 meter freestyle. Most of the events he was supposed to do that day were freestyle, although he was sure there was an individual medley event as well. Glancing towards the timer mounted on the far wall, he saw that it was heat 4. He was in heat 6, so he would be swimming in two heats. Trying to kill time, he stretched his neck, tilting it to one side and pushing the opposite arm down. As Percy did this, he noticed someone in the next lane staring at him. Said person was a girl who looked about 10, with a pale complexion, black hair with green highlights, and ocean blue eyes. Upon further discovery, Percy realized that her skin had a glow of blue, like freshwater. He turned his gaze from her and tried to focus on the race that was soon to happen. However, he could feel the girl's stare on him, which made him shudder nervously.

Finally, the announcer called up heat 6, and he quickly got on the starting block, trying to get away from the girl as much as he could. He glanced to the side, and saw the girl on the diving block as well, giving him a snarky grin. Percy relaxed at that, and rolled his eyes, thinking the girl was challenging him. He tightened his goggles and took a calming breath. Quickly glancing at the water before him, he shivered again, but this time in excitement. This was his first race, and somewhere in the crowds his entire team was watching, as well as his mother.

"Swimmers, ready." At the command, Percy arched over and let his arms go limp towards the floor. "Take your marks." Again, following the order, Percy let his fingers press against the diving block, and his legs bent, reading to push off at the whistle. He didn't have to wait long before the high pitch whistle blew, and he pushed off, using his legs and arms to give him the momentum. In midair, he let his upper arms press against his ears, and placed one hand on top of the other, giving him a streamlined position. Percy heard a splash, and the sudden change in temperature signified he was in the water. He started to do dolphin kick, maintaining his speed for about ten meters before he changed to flutter kick just as he was about to break the surface.

Sally watched in crowd as Percy sprinted towards the wall. It brought a smile to her face to see how hard her son was trying. But what brought an even bigger smile to her face was that Percy was in the lead, with a noticeable gap between him and second. As he finished the first length, he turned quickly and was underwater for a few seconds before breaking the surface. He switched to breathing every three strokes, obviously tired from the length before. However, Percy managed to keep the distance between him and the other swimmers, who were also slowing down. Sally laughed to herself as she heard others in the stands muttering how amazing the boy in first's technique and speed were.

In another section of the crowd, the San Francisco Junior Aquatic Team, SFJAT for short, were cheering loudly for Percy. However, nobody beat Annabeth as she sitting on Kyle's shoulders and waving her paper flags with Percy's name on them. As Percy turned again, starting the final lap, the timer showed the results of his first 50 meters, which surprised many people in the crowd: 00:32.05. It was astonishing to see a ten year old doing fifty meters under 40 seconds, and even more surprising that he was still going at the same speed as before. This only led to Annabeth and her team to cheer louder for their fastest swimmer. Although many had been jealous of Percy going to the first lane in practices under a week, they eventually got over it and quickly became friends with him. Not to mention his mother would always have candy for them, which was a huge plus.

Back in the water, Percy felt like he was dead. His arms were starting to feel sore, his legs burned, and his lungs felt like they were going to collapse. However, the determination to make his team and his mother proud drove him to keep going. As he took a breath, he could glimpse the flags representing the five meter mark ahead, which notified him the turn was close. Increasing the speed of his legs kicking, he took a few more powerful strokes before rolling forward and pushing off the wall.

Both Annabeth and Sally watched as Percy finished his race, as his arms were moving as fast as they could and his feet were a blur from kicking so fast. The boy had a gap of half a length between him and the other swimmers, the girl from before in second. Annabeth cheered louder along with her teammates as her crush passed the five meter mark, and then slammed a hand against the wall. The timer on the scoreboard stopped instantly, and the blonde looked up at it, only for her eyes to widen.

01:04.63.

A minute and twelve seconds. Compared to the Olympics, this paled in comparison. However, for a ten year old to achieve this was absolutely incredible. Sitting beside Annabeth, Kyle laughed to himself at the boy's success.

"He sure did well, didn't he Annabeth?" He asked the dumbfounded girl, who was looking at the scoreboard with various emotions. When she didn't reply, he rolled his eyes and sat back, still grinning.

Sally on the other hand was taking pictures of Percy who was looking at the scoreboard, with a small smile on his face. No words could describe how proud she was feeling. What mother wouldn't be? She only paused in taking pictures when someone spoke with a microphone. Listening, she recognized it to be a teenager speaking from how young they sounded, but her eyes widened at the message.

"Perseus Jackson has set a new record for his age group." At that, Sally's smile could only grow wider.

After the next heat dove into the water, Percy slowly got out, his limbs burning and aching. He was still out of breath and his face a bit pale with exhaustion. But mentally, he was leaping in joy. A new record? Damn did he good for his first competition. The eight year old could feel a smile come onto his face, and he whooped in joy, walking back to the bleachers. But before he could, a hand tapped his shoulder. Turning around, Percy saw the same girl from the lane next to him smiling.

"Good job out there," she said, holding out her hand.

Percy wasn't a cocky person, so he quickly shook her hand. "Thank you. You did really good too though!"

The girl gave a small laugh, and shook her head. "Not as well as you did." She stared at him in the eyes, her brow furrowing in concentration. Percy shifted his feet uncomfortably in her gaze, before she finally smiled at him. "Do you mind if you gave your mother a message?"

Percy blinked in confusion. The girl knew his mother? How? Letting those questions slip into the back of his mind, he replied, "Sure. What do you want me to tell her?"

The girl seemed to think about it, her lips pursing in thought before she told him, "Lord Poseidon is proud. Beware- it will get harder from the ninth year. Can you tell that to her?" Percy was flabbergasted. _Lord_? _Poseidon_? As in the God of the Seas? What did he have to be proud of? Ninth year? Does that mean Percy's ninth birthday? Before the boy could ask, the girl had already walked away, her hair flowing behind her.

That added another question. "Wasn't her hair wet just now?"

* * *

A nymph.

Poseidon had sent a nymph to see how well his son was doing. That brought a small smile to Sally's face. When Percy had told her what had happened she'd laughed at his puzzled expression. All in due time, she'd told him. But for now, she would have to prepare for Poseidon's warning. Normally, demigod's scents become stronger as they reach mid puberty. Children of the Big Three however, became more noticeable when they reached the age of nine. Sally had managed to hide Percy with the scent of others, with the students in kendo and kids in swimming.

Soon, Sally had to go back to New York for a job offer. The young mother didn't want to for several reasons. One, Percy was happy swimming. Two, she wanted him to keep interacting with kids his age, especially his friends. Finally, she wasn't blind to the fact that her son and Annabeth had a crush on each other. It was embarrassingly obvious, no matter how hard the two tried to hide it. One time, Annabeth had held Percy's hand when leaving the pool, much to the boy's confusion.

It was obvious the two were happy around each other, and recently, after Percy's victory the blonde had given him a peck on the cheek, causing him to go bright red in embarrassment. But Sally had seen the smile that formed on his face. The two probably didn't know what they were feeling was, and Sally really didn't want to take that away from them. But Percy really needed to prepare for his future, and she wasn't going to drag a mortal girl into this. Maybe they could be together, after whatever Percy's future held, but for now, it had to be done.

The hard part would be telling Percy what was going to happen. And Sally knew her son would not like it at all. Nearly five years of living in Sans Francisco had allowed Percy and Annabeth to become closer than she could have imagined. It was as if they were incomplete without each other. Sally wasn`t a person to believe in fate, although she knew the Fates existed. However, the two seemed to be meant for each other, a perfect union. But now, she was about to rip that apart.

Two weeks after the Jacksons had left for New York, Sally got an email that Annabeth had run away from home. It only made it worse that she'd been gone for three days. But the real kicker was Percy. The eleven year old wouldn't-couldn't-sleep, worried sick about his best friend. His face would be pale when she saw him in the morning, his hair messier than the rat's nest it usually was, and his eyes bloodshot and wide. Percy's movements were clumsy, and he could barely walk from his exhaustion. Eventually, he fell into slumber from his body literally unable to go on without sleep. As he slept though, Sally saw him mumbling, "Annabeth, be safe."

Sally would always regret the day they moved back to New York.

* * *

Percy met his first monster when he was twelve.

While he was at a field trip with everybody in his class from Yancy, the kleptomaniac redhead Nancy Bobofit wouldn't leave his friend Grover alone. The next things he knew, he saw red and she was drenched in the fountain, although he had never touched her. After that, the monster from hell (complete coincidence) Ms. Dodds, dragged him to the back of the museum. At first Percy thought she was going to hit him. Then she decided to take off her leather jacket.

_Holy crap she's a pedophile!_

Thankfully, she wasn't. Unfortunately…she wasn't. Her face twisted into something uglier, her hair disappeared into her skull, and fangs grew out from where her canines used to be. Needless to say, Percy was rather disgusted. Her skin turned an ugly shade of brown, and wings sprouted out from her back, resembling a bat's. They started flapping, and soon Percy was faced what he realized to be a Fury- one of Hades' prime monsters.

'Wow,' he thought, 'she _was_ a monster from hell. He would have been amused if she hadn't tried to kill him. A leather whip with small spikes appeared in her hand, and she swung at him repeatedly. The first time, she almost left a nasty scar on his chest, if he hadn't step sided quickly. It lashed by, one of the spikes catching onto his shirt and ripping it from his left shoulder down to his right hip. He mentally cursed, as it had been one of his favourites. Thinking quickly, Percy ran back towards the entrance of the museum, Ms. Dodds, or the Fury he should say, quickly running after him.

Percy quickly grabbed a metal pole from an area within the museum construction was occurring. Hearing the _whoosh_ of the whip moving, he turned and deflected it with the makeshift weapon, only for it to bend in half from the pressure. The end of the Fury's weapon brushed his cheek, one of the thorns leaving a shallow cut. Percy grunted in annoyance, his pain tolerance from _kendo_ being useful, and hurled the now useless weapon at Ms. Dodds. It collided with her solidly in the chest, and she shrieked in pain before coming back after him.

"You will pay demigod!" she screeched, lashing out with her whip again.

Percy rolled to the side, letting it collide with the marble floor where he used to be. "I don't care if I'm a demigod you stupid Fury, just leave me the hell alone! I haven't done anything to you!"

For some reason, this only caused the Fury's…fury to increase, as she roared in anger. "You _dare_? You who defied HADES? You insolent boy!" She swung her arm down, the whip in her hand striking down with extreme speed. This time, Percy couldn't dodge. It lashed against his left shoulder, and he yelled in pain, clutching it as he continued running. The barbs had cut deep, leaving small holes in his flesh, and blood soaked his shirt.

His speed slowed, and the Fury doubled her efforts, swinging her whip as she flew, trying to hit him. Percy quickly changed his running into a zigzag pattern, causing her to miss him barely every time he switched directions. The demigod was approaching the museum exit, and seeing his chance, started sprinting, ignoring the pain in his shoulder. It wasn't going to be that easy though. Hades' servant shrieked a battle cry before swinging her weapon at his feet, knocking him off balance. Percy tumbled, and collided with the ground, sliding several feet before coming to a stop. He grits his teeth in agony as he rolled over his injured shoulder, refusing to give the monster satisfaction.

``Percy! Catch!" The boy turned to see his Latin teacher of all people, Mr. Brunner, rolling towards him in a wheelchair. In the man`s hand was…a pen. Percy was dumbfounded as the man tossed him the writing utensil, and it clattered onto the ground sliding towards him. Weakly, Percy managed to pick it up, and upon closer examination, discovered that it was not just a pen, but a _ballpoint _pen.

…Perhaps Mr. Brunner was so blinded by the Mist he saw evil test papers attacking him? The thought was completely absurd but in the world of the Olympians, it seemed possible. Instinctively uncapping it, Percy's eyes widened in shock as it morphed into a three foot long bronze sword. The blade resembled a leaf, the way it curved inwards and then outwards again near the tip. The hilt had leather wrapped around for grip, and the hilt was a simple design, separating his hand from touching the blade.

It felt off.

Percy got back onto his feet, and got into a stance, holding the sword up in front of him, but it felt off balance to him. Maybe it was because he was used to using wooden practice swords, but the weapon was odd to him. However, he decided to not look a gift horse in the mouth, and prepared himself. The Fury had been distracted at the Latin teacher's approach, and was caught off guard when Percy executed an overhead swing at it. Shrieking, she flew out of the way, the edge of the blade narrowly missing her. Her eyes narrowed at him, before she dived and swung her whip at him again.

To her horror, Percy simply swung his right arm, and the sword cut cleanly through the whip, rendering the weapon useless. Desperate, she threw the remnants of her whip at him, only for Percy to dodge quickly and run towards her, jumping off a display table and slashed the blade downwards from his right shoulder to his left hip. The attack cleaved through the Fury, cutting her deeply as she roared in pain, before she exploded into yellow dust. Some of it got into Percy's wounds, which made him wince at the stinging sensation.

"Uh, Mr. Brunner-"

The Latin teacher was gone. Percy whirled around, looking for the man, who had completely disappeared. He sighed in annoyance, before he recapped the sword, and it shifted back into a pen. Confused, Percy Jackson walked out of the museum, wearing torn and bloody clothes, looking like someone who had fought a lion. That guess wouldn't be that far off.

* * *

_"Demigod?"_

_ "Yes Percy," Sally said, avoiding his gaze. "You're a demigod-half mortal, half god."_

_ "Like THE Perseus, Theseus, and Odysseus?"_

_ "Why do all end the same way?"_

_ "…I don't know. Anyways, is that why I've gone through all this training?" Percy asked calmly, taking a sip of his hot chocolate. The two of them were sitting in the living room, facing each other. Sally was biting her lip anxiously, and her eyes were on the floor, finding the carpet interesting._

_ She nodded. "I wanted to prepare you. You see, your father is an important deity Percy. You being his son make you more powerful than other demigods. Unfortunately, that means more monsters will come after you as well."_

_ Percy put his empty cup down, and rested his elbows on the table, his head on his hands. "Let me guess- Poseidon." When his mother's eyes widened in surprise, he explained, "I've always had a connection to the water, that much is obvious. Whenever I get mad, there's an accidental manipulation of water nearby-remember the fountain incident?" Sally laughed. "Yeah, now I'm sure that was my fault. Whenever we go to Montauk the sea is always calling me, and I can't resist it."_

_ "You're not as surprised as I thought you would be," Sally stated, smiling a bit. _

_ "When you're mother's making you do all these lessons anyone can guess she's preparing you for something. I still don't get what those dance class were for though. _Or_ those violin classes. That was complete torture, looking at those notes. Were you training me for patience?" he joked. Thankfully, his mother laughed again, and she met his eyes. "I can guess that I'm lucky, that I had a mother who helped me along the way."_

_ Sally pulled him into a hug, one that he gladly returned. "What happened to my four year old baby that was always confused when he had to do something?"_

_ Percy chuckled. "He grew up mom. All thanks to his amazing mother." There was a moment of silence, before Percy broke it. "Will I get further training?"_

_ Sally nodded. "You'll be going to Camp Half-Blood. A safe haven for demigods. You can train with other demigods, which, I'll warn you now, will be more difficult than _kendo_ training. Tell me why."_

_ Percy cracked a smile. "Firstly, they've been training nearly 24/7, therefore they've had more training. Two, their ADHD gives their reflexes a boost. Three, demigod strength and speed are much faster than the average human. As is their endurance and ability to take a hit. Like Heracles. Four, their godly parents give them unique abilities, for example Apollo, any child of his will be gifted at archery, having keen eyesight and enhanced upper arm and core strength. Did I miss anything?"_

_ His mother shook her head, smiling proudly. "I taught you well didn't I?"_

_ "I'm sure Camp Half-Blood would let you work as a teacher there."_

_ "No can do Percy, I have a book to write!" Percy rolled his eyes, only for his mother to whack him, causing him to wince._

_ "Ow! What was that for?"_

_ "You got that from your father, you did not get that from me."_

_ Percy snorted. "Yeah sure. Remember the time when you slapped the cashier when she was being rude? Way to be a good role model mom."_

_ "Hmph. Do you want me to post your baby pictures online Perseus? I can if you want me to."_

_ "You wouldn't _dare_," he growled, narrowing his eyes at her. Sally giggled, only to gasp when Percy lunged at her, and started tickling her feet. She screamed, before managing to push him off and poking his stomach, and the demigod chortled and laughed. Sally broke into laughter when he eventually got the hiccups, something Percy found extremely embarrassing…_

* * *

Pain.

That's all Percy felt. The demigod was lying on the road, his arms sprawled, and his head bleeding from a gash on his forehead. The blood ran down his right eye, making it useless, and blocking half his eyesight. He took a quick glance around his surroundings. Several other vehicles were crunched up and battered, and others were burning. Grunting, he slowly got up, and yanked several glass shards from his palms.

Beside Percy was the cab he had been in…or what was left of it. The yellow car was torn in half, and the roof was smoking black, almost as if…_it had been struck by lightning_. Only just noticing that it was dark, Percy look skyward, and saw storm clouds rumbling and receding quickly. In the background, sirens could be heard, and he looked around again to see people trying to get out of their damaged vehicles, while others were lying on the floor, unmoving.

The son of Poseidon saw several crows pecking at a dead body, and Percy almost threw up right there. Crows didn't inhabit New York. But on building ledges and hopping around were hundreds of these birds. Not a good sign for Percy at all. Crows represented death, therefore representing-

"Hades," he realized. Panicking, he turned, looking for any sign of monsters that might be lurking around. Left, right, up, maybe disguised-none were in sight. But he didn't relax just yet, and started thinking. He couldn't go back home. If there were monsters somewhere they would trace back to his mother, if they hadn't already done so. Percy felt his heart wrench at the thought of his mother being attacked. Clenching his fist, causing the cuts to ooze blood, generated enough pain for him to snap out of it. He needed to get to Camp Half-Blood. It didn't take a child of Athena to realize that Zeus and Hades knew he was here. The crows were only a message that worse would be coming, and very soon. Percy needed to get moving. He ran down the street, and ran into the nearest survival equipment he could find, which happened to be a Target store. Dashing through the automatic doors, he ran to the clothes section. Finding a durable backpack that had enough space, Percy sprinted off towards the men's section. Shorts and t-shirts would do no good. He needed durable materials, and weather proof too if he was going to be travelling this long. There were several tight sports shirts, made of water proof material, so he grabbed those. Bundling them up tightly so they would take as little space as possible, he stuffed those at the bottom of the bag before looking for the next item. Perfectly, he found a set of camouflage pants and jacket, which were both thin but were also waterproof and were baggy for movement. Percy stuffed the jacket in the bag, but grabbed three sets of the pants before grabbing some other necessities (like underwear), and ran to another section.

If he was going to be surviving he needed survival tools. Flint and steel? Check. It was a simple metal rod with a striker that fit nicely into a case, and had some timber in a small bag. He didn't grab a tent, as it obviously would be too heavy for him to lug around. Instead, Percy grabbed a tarp, which was water proof and was durable enough to protect him from bad weather. Percy rolled that up too, and grabbed a sleeping bag. It would weigh him down a little, but it wasn't as thick as the other ones so he grabbed it anyway. He also grabbed a hunting knife for gutting and skinning animals, as well as carving. The demigod didn't know when he would need rope, but he grabbed a small spool of the stuff, and stored it away into a side pocket. What else would he need other than food? It hit him instantly- weapons. Percy ran to the home department section, only realizing then that the store was dead empty. It sent a shiver down his spine, but he shrugged it off. Spotting a set of kitchen knives with cases, he grabbed the larger ones and slid three into his bag, and kept one in his pocket just in case he needed it.

There were several smaller knives, and Percy weighted them in his hands. They were a good enough size for throwing knives. Deciding to be paranoid, he grabbed fifteen of them, putting ten in the bag and the other five in his other pocket. That was all he needed from here. Running to the hygiene section, Percy did NOT grab shampoo. He was here for something else. There was a display of bug spray, and he smirked when he saw the symbol on the side- flammable. Grabbing two of those, he ran to the cashiers, something he should have done when he first entered, and grabbed two Zippo lighters. Now he had the tools for a flamethrower.

"I can't grab anything that will spoil over time," he mumbled as he headed over to the food section. "So energy bars will have to do." On the way there, he found duct tape and took a roll. Heading to the snack aisle, Percy saw what he used to get all the time- Cliff Bars. They came in a pack of forty, so Percy ripped the box open and poured several out, before he came to an ultimate decision. "Now now…how many oatmeal and how many chocolate should I get?" Deciding 15 and 10 was good, he put them in the front pocket of his back pack, and grabbed four bottles of energy drinks and put them in the bag too. Glancing at his dress shoes, he decided he would need something a lot more durable. Heading over to the shoes section, Percy dismissed the running shoes as they would be no good in mud or water. A pair of combat boots caught his eye, and he quickly took his shoes off and put the boots on. They were a solid black colour, with metal rivet like hoops for the laces. Percy laced them tightly, and was delighted to find that they were a perfect fit.

He ran back to the cashier, but on the way a blue zip up sweater appealed to him. It was a dark blue with green trim along the sleeves and the hoodie, and it had a white trident symbol on the back ironically. Percy grinned, and quickly put it on, rolling the sleeves up. Deciding that he liked it, he ran back to the cashier. He mentally chuckled. Here he was, preparing to survive in the wild for the next couple of weeks, and he was dressing up. Reaching the cashier, he tried to yank the machine open but it wouldn't open-locked. Letting out a lazy sigh, he raised a leg and kicked the metal box. With a loud _ding_ it opened, revealing several dollar bills and coins. He didn't bother grabbing the change, and stuffed the money inside the sleeping bag, in case his bag got wet. Walking out of the store, Percy saw ambulances and police cars everywhere, which made his heart speed up. A news reporter was talking into a camera, "Earlier today, a massive lightning surge struck a taxi in Manhattan. It branched off to the other vehicles, igniting the gas and causing them to explode, injuring the passengers and killing several, as well as pedestrians. Police are still trying to help passengers from their vehicles and sending the injured to the hospital and retrieving the dead. Nobody knows of yet what the cause of this lightning was and…"

Percy felt sick.

Zeus killed innocent people just to kill him. He didn't understand what had happened though-how was he still alive? The bolt had struck his cab first, but he'd been safe on the road, despite a few injuries. On that train of thought, Percy's eyes widened, and he rushed back into the store, grabbing First Aid supplies. Now he was set. Quickly walking away from the scene, it would be a few hours later that Percy Jackson was declared missing.

Three hours.

He had walked three hours before the first monster had found him.

But unlike with the Fury, he was prepared. Percy was wearing the camouflage pants with the combat boots, a black muscle shirt with the hoodie unzipped. He'd used the duct tape to strap five of the smaller knives to his right thigh, and one of the larger ones on his calf. In his hand was a five foot wooden staff, which he had whittled to be smooth using the hunting knife. Taped to one end was another kitchen knife, and he held the weapon in front of him warily.

The monster in front of him was human like. Percy had almost mistaken the monster for a human, but then he'd seen the ears. It was a teenage boy about sixteen years old, with silky black hair, with long bangs that completely covered his left eye. His face was angular, and looked slightly feminine, with a pointed chin and smooth jaw. With the hair, Percy could pass him for a girl. Black skinny jeans and a black sweater finished off the look, with a crescent moon on the front, and the boy was barefoot.

Percy acted on instinct and held the knife end of the staff to the teen's neck in a flash. The teen's visible eye widened and he held his hands up in surrender, his ears twitching. Not human ears. Two wolf ears sprouted from the boy's hair, and they twitched every so often. The teen smiled innocently. "Yo!"

Percy held the blade closer to his neck. He could see the boy gulp and had felt satisfied, being able to intimidate him. "I would say you were a werewolf but the only one I know that can morph into human form without a full moon is Lycaon. So answer me now before I slit your throat and send you to Tartarus-who are you?"

"I'm a peaceful person just passing by-okay I'm joking. The name is Ace!" The puppy human answered cheerfully. Percy couldn't detect if he was lying or not.

"Second question: Who are you?"

"Envoy of C!"

Percy's eyes widened for two reasons. First, he never thought the monster would answer him at all, and second…C?

"How the hell do you know C? Isn't he mortal?"

At his question, 'Ace' cracked. He started laughing, his shoulders shaking as he tried to contain his mirth. "Mortal? Ha! Far from it Percy Jackson! Did you not notice his eyes? Did you think that was normal for a mere mortal? How could you not feel the power radiating from him?"

Percy shrugged nonchalantly. "Meh. Wasn't really paying attention at the time. All I wanted was my _shinai _back-"

"What's that?"

"…never mind. Anyways, what the hell does C want from me?"

"Oooh, scary boy," Ace teased, sticking his tongue out. He recomposed himself before answering. "Can you get this knife away from my neck though? It's really getting on my nerves." Percy's eyes narrowed in suspicion, before deeming Ace trustworthy. He lowered the weapon, but it was still angled to run him through. "Thanks. C is a deity, I'll tell you that much. Mortals don't know that much about him so you won't identify him right off the bat. He's interested in you Percy Jackson, as the child of Prophecy."

"Child of Prophecy?" Percy's eyes widened for a split second. "What are you talking about?"

"Can't tell you that, ask the old horse when you get to Camp Half-Blood."

"You're not here to kill me?"

Ace snorted. "If I wanted to do that I would have done so already. C wants you to know several things to ensure your survival. Trust me, when someone like him takes interest in you, it's a damn good thing. So don't fuck up, or else he'll be disappointed."

Percy's hand clenched the staff tighter until his knuckles were white. "Okay. Fine. What does the old geezer wannabe want?"

"Ha! I should tell him that one! Although it wasn't that good." Percy glared at Ace. "'Kay fine. Two things: first of all, your mother is protected. Don't worry about her getting attacked?"

"And I can trust you with this how?" Percy asked.

Ace just gave him a cryptic smile. "Protection under C is a huge thing Perseus Jackson." At his full name Percy stiffened a bit. "No monster can tough her even if they wanted to. She'll be safe. No creature would dare to touch her, not even those ordered by Hades." At this, Percy visibly relaxed, letting out a sigh of relief and his shoulders dropping.

"And the second thing?" he asked, trusting Ace a bit more now.

"About halfway to Camp Half-Blood, there's a forest. I'm not going to tell you which one cause that would be way to easy. There's a test made by C for you there. If you can complete it, you'll obtain something special. Something _very _special."

Percy blinked disbelievingly. "What if I don't pass the test?"

Ace shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe you go on with life freely. Maybe you die. Not my problem."

"I though C had an interest in me."

"Not a relationship interest if that was what you were wondering. Are you homosexual by any chance? I don't have anything against them but I really don't want you to make a move on me." Percy wanted to strangle him. "Eh who cares. But since C has taken notice of you, I'm sure you'll pass. All of his champions have been successful so far, and I don't think you will either."

"He's had previous champions?"

"Since Ancient Times," Ace replied, examining his finger nails. "They were chosen to fulfill a certain task, and they did with flying colours. As long as you give it your all you should be good."

"I feel so much better now, thanks," Percy replied dryly.

Ace gave him a thumbs up. "No problem! Okay I got to go and pick up some girls so ta-ta!" Turning on his heel, the teen left. But before he could Percy decided to get revenge for the homosexual comment.

"I guess you really are a mutt. You dog!"

Ace froze, before turning around and flipping the bird, only to find no one there. His eyes widened. "Damn it! I thought C was the only one who could do that!"

* * *

**Sorry about the late chapter; Hope you enjoyed it though! Ace is mainly a side character, he won't be appearing that often. Night Raven, out.**


End file.
